One of the reasons I enjoyed living in Northeast was its political vitality. Nothing got by us. When I first arrived in El Paso, campaigning for city council was Bobby Bowling – a proven leader (that was his campaign slogan). It was 1987 or ’88, I can’t remember which. That was the first campaign sign I remember and the first personality I met. We remain friends today. Stan Roberts was the District Four representative and the Northeast Civic Association seemed to be the political pulse of everything north of Fred Wilson... The ‘Haggerty” meetings were and remain among the political institutions of the Northeast and anyone who wished to make a political footprint in the Northeast had to walk through one or each of these venues: the district breakfast meeting (then hosted by Stan Roberts) – where we got real updates on public policy pursues and direction, meetings Buck’s Barbeque hosted by Dan Haggerty [and friends], and the much vaunted Northeast Civic Association. Our leaders reflected our tenacity. What happened? With the last election, we threw Melina Castro into the deep end of the pool and it’s our district that’s drowning. Melina knew nothing of these meetings, never attended, and her track record of decision making do not reflect the true pulse of the electorate north of Hondo Pass.
We seem to have settled for less-than-quality representation. She has proven to be politically shallow, largely invisible when away from city hall, an ineffective communicator and indifferent to the will and wishes of the majority of the District Four constituents. Her decision-making seems to give clear evidence that something other-than-a-Northeast agenda is favored over northeast residents’ and whose residence itself is questionable. For whatever reason, we’ve done nothing about it. She was against street resurfacing [that was a money saver and improved the infrastructure for our incoming troops], against the Cohen Stadium scoreboard upgrade; against the North Hills Neighborhood Association and its bid to stop the quarry. She voted against the Borderland Trade Show buy out so we could bring the $50m Bowling Tournament. Ms. Castro sits on the Central Appraisal District Board. What do we have to show for it besides seemingly arbitrary valuations? When asked to support her position on these and many other issues, the standard reply is “No Comment.” The list goes on. Ms Castro is able to make property tax and land use legislation in the district she is charged to represent but – according to Central Appraisal District records – owns no property and pays no property taxes in District Four.
Both print and broadcasts media chronicle the complaints, missteps and questionable judgments on issues key to the city and the district. A big one: Castro ordered to pay city $31,200. This is a result of a bogus lawsuit Ms. Castro filed contending that she was denied access to certain legal documents pertaining to the case of former City Attorney Rita Rodriguez. Important? Possibly. Priority for Northeast – or El Paso at-large, I think not. We, the people, are suffering from this proven unnecessary cost to the city, not only in time, but in dollars. According to the Crowder article dated December 28th, 2006, the $31,000 is “significantly less than the $50,000 that the city has already paid lawyer Jeffrey Ray for his defense of Mr. McNabb and the city.” In round figures, we, the people are forced to “eat” $18,000 in legal expenses caused by Ms Castro even if she pays the current judgment. This debt to the city is also in likely contravention to the city charter as it pertains to council representatives owing money to the municipal government. Frankly, its money we don’t have. We can expect that this ‘setback’ (that is what her lawyer, [then] Travis Ketner called the ruling) will further distract her from “representing District Four and we, the people of Northeast will suffer even further. The baton was later passed to Luther Jones as her new attorney-of-record. Prior to becoming her attorney, Mr. Jones – in an attempt to mitigate the $31k bill – addressed the issue with the mayor.
Now, both of these gentlemen are tethered to other – more pressing – legal matters. And before the corruption scandal, Ms Castro was tethered to both of these lawyers. People tell me that when I make noise, it’s the sound of ‘sour grapes.’ Well, what have we got to lose? We are suffering politically and our seat on council is rarely a part of anything positive. The seat seems to represent and favor conflict over cooperation; nonsense over common sense; fosters chaos over consensus and prosecutes a personal agenda at the expense of the common good. Our district is the brunt of cartoons [Little Miss Melina sat on her sillita – EP Times Dec 31 06]. We can do better. Is there anyone out there who remembers the quality of political past and has any idea of what we can do to restore it? Many stop me on the street and in the stores and restaurants of Northeast. “We have no leadership; no representation,” they tell me. “Can you do anything about it?” “Well, not alone.” Some that have suggested a recall election must remember that our city charter has changed. I think a sitting representative cannot be recalled in his/her final year. So anyone who spearheads such an initiative must keep in mind that we have one year and 1,500 signatures to get it right.
Whatever the political risks or fallout, the time for action is past. A chain is as strong as its weakest link and a city’s leadership is a strong as its weakest district representative. In the area of quality leadership we are hemorrhaging. The FBI discovered a cancer of corruption in our county government. It has spread; we don’t know how far. Other important issues face us: downtown revitalization, eminent domain, the war in Iraq, immigration policy changes and troop assimilation to name a few. These, plus the Congressman Reyes’ committee chairmanship bring new focus to El Paso. If El Paso is truly “on the move,” we need to eliminate all the ‘speed bumps’ in her pathway. Some of these speed bumps are in public office; others are a politically ignorant, apathetic & silent majority. My message to Northeast and the rest of El Paso: “We can do better.” Stop the bleeding. It’s time for a change.
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Editor's note: Jerome Tilghman is a retired army officer, professional educator, and freelance writer. He is politically active throughout Greater El Paso, having run for office against Melina Castro. He also has a radio show from 10-11 a.m. on KHRO 1650 AM, where the topic of whether he will run for another office has been ongoing.
